USA Network developing Treadstone, a Jason Bourne prequel series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Given the luke-warm response which JASON BOURNE received from audiences two years ago, it's unlikely that the series will continue on the big-screen, but that doesn't mean that the franchise is dead as USA Network have announced that they're developing a Bourne prequel series titled Treadstone. Here we go again.

According to the official synopsis via THR, Treadstone will explore the "origin story and present-day actions of a CIA black ops program known as Treadstone — a covert operation that uses behavior modification protocol to turn its agents into nearly unstoppable superhuman assassins. The series follows sleeper agents across the globe as they’re mysteriously "awakened" to resume their deadly missions." Tim Kring (Heroes) will write the project as well as serve as executive producer, as will Ramin Bahrani (FAHRENHEIT 451), who will be directing the pilot. I wish I could get excited about Treadstone, but the whole concept of superhuman secret agents and clandestine government programs is something we've seen so many times before. That said, it's possible that Kring and Bahrani could craft something compelling and exciting, but I'd have a little more faith if Paul Greengrass and/or Matt Damon were involved in some form.

Speaking of Matt Damon, the actor commented last year on the unenthusiastic reaction which JASON BOURNE received, admitting that "This last one didn’t do as well as the one we did 10 years ago, so maybe people are done with the character." Despite the mediocre reviews, JASON BOURNE was a box-office success, which, as we know, is more of a deciding factor in regards to sequels than reviews are. Matt Damon believes "everybody is leaving the door open, as we did at the end of this movie, in hopes that we can come up with an intriguing story for the next one," before adding that "it would have to be a pretty incredible story to get us all back on the horse."

I wanted to like JASON BOURNE, I really did, and it's not that it was a bad movie, it just came across as repetitive and unnecessary, which was the last thing we wanted after an absence of nearly a decade. Will Treadstone revitalize the JASON BOURNE franchise? Who knows, but I'm not about to get my hopes up this time around.